It’s a first opportunity for Boro’s fans to watch Rob Edwards’ team in action, after the Championship side kicked off their summer campaign with a behind closed doors training game in Portugal last weekend.
So what are the key things to look out for and what might we learn about Boro at Field Mill?
THE TRANSFER PICTURE
Boro are still pushing for a transfer breakthrough this summer as the start of the Championship campaign nears.
While nothing is close enough for a signing to put pen to paper this weekend, Edwards will be able to provide an update when he speaks to the media after the game.
When it comes to transfers and targets, what happens and what is said elsewhere will also be interesting and potentially revealing.
Will Callum Brittain play for Blackburn in their friendly against Everton after missing last week’s game against Accrington amid Boro’s interest?
Boro haven’t achieved a breakthrough in talks with Blackburn this week, but remain confident of landing their top right-back target, who wants to move to the Riverside.
Boro also remain interested in Hull City’s Alfie Jones, who is currently out in Turkey on the Tigers’ pre-season camp, as they do in Danny Ings after positive talks with the striker and his representatives.
We should also find out more about the situation with Jonny Howson.
Edwards will be asked about the midfielder after Saturday’s game, and while the head coach was understandably not in a position to offer any real clarity when he was quizzed on Howson in his unveiling – just hours after his arrival had been announced – the picture will surely become clearer this weekend.
And then there’s the Boro duo who are attracting interest from elsewhere this summer.
How are Hayden Hackney and Rav van den Berg dealing with the uncertainty? And will Edwards offer any clues as to how the situation with the pair might play out?
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ATTACKING PLANS
Boro confirmed on Friday that Tommy Conway will wear the No.9 shirt this coming season, a reward for his fine first campaign on Teesside and more evidence – not that it was required – that he’ll be the main man up-front this season.
But what is Edwards’ thinking when it comes to other forward players.
We know Ings is a target, with Boro keen to strengthen the forward line after Emmanuel Latte Lath’s January exit and Kelechi Iheanacho’s failed loan move.
But could it be that Marcus Forss is now used though the middle and seen as a striker rather than a right-sided attacker?
On the subject of strikers, Boro were today linked with Michael Smith after his Sheffield Wednesday exit. But they have no interest whatsoever in the 33-year-old.
THE SYSTEM
Given Edwards played with a back three and wing-backs at Luton Town, it was easy and understandable to assume he’d follow suit at Boro. But that’s by no means clear cut.
Indeed, while Edwards will be flexible and won’t rigidly stick to one set-up or way of playing, the suggestion at this stage is that the head coach actually intends to play with a back four.
Saturday’s game will undoubtedly tell us more, for while Edwards will shuffle his pack and try to give as many players as possible crucial match minutes, he’ll almost certainly set his side up in the shape he plans to use in the weeks and months ahead.
INJURY HOPE
Boro have been plagued by injuries for the last two seasons, no doubt a contributing factor to coming up short in their bid to reach the top six in the Championship.
Edwards and his backroom team will have no doubt identified the need to avoid a repeat as a priority, and several players will be desperate to put previous frustrations behind them.
“There’s definitely fire there,” said Riley McGree this week, with the Australian international having missed large chunks of the last two campaigns.
“I’ve got a point to prove, I think for myself more than anything. Not just for myself though – it’s for my team-mates, for the fans, for everyone involved at the club.
“I want to be fit, I want to be playing, I want to contribute and I want to be winning, scoring, getting promoted and playing the highest possible level we possibly can as a club.”
Darragh Lenihan will be desperate to get his career back on track, while the likes of Dael Fry and George Edmundson will be itching for a consistent spell of games after setbacks last season.
FRINGE PLAYERS & YOUNGSTERS
Who’d have predicted three seasons ago that Chuba Akpom would star and become Boro’s main man?
Or that Hackney, on the back of a difficult loan spell at the EFL’s bottom club Scunthorpe United, would establish himself as one of the most exciting talents in the Championship?
Could this season be one for revivals or breakthroughs?
The likes of Micah Hamilton, Sammy Silvera and Alex Gilbert will be hoping to take advantage of a fresh start at Boro, while Law McCabe will want this season to be the one where he becomes a more prominent first team fixture.
